Marks & Spencer eyes further expansion in India

M&S also plans to grow its online reach across the country via fashion platforms like Myntra and AJIO, the company said in a statementPTI | Updated: November 09, 2016, 10:12 IST

Amid a major global strategic overhaul, British brand Marks & Spencer (M&S) today reaffirmed its commitment to growing its joint venture business with Reliance Retail in India, and expects to continue opening 10 new stores annually.

M&S also plans to grow its online reach across the country via fashion platforms Myntra and AJIO here, the company said in a statement.

"The Marks & Spencer brand resonates with customers in India and combined with our established store estate, online offering and the growth potential in the Indian market, Marks & Spencer will continue to grow in scale and relevance in the country," Venu Nair, the Managing Director of Marks & Spencer Reliance India, said.

Presently, the retail store has 58 outlets across 27 cities here, the largest outside the UK.

The Group is looking to close parts of its loss-making wholly-owned business in a number of markets and promote its profitable franchise business, which made a profit of 87 million pound last year, it said.

"Going forward Marks & Spencer proposes to operate with fewer wholly-owned markets and have a greater focus on its established joint ventures and franchise partnerships," M&S said in a statement here.

It plans to close all of its 53 wholly-owned stores in ten markets, including seven in France and 10 in China, as well as its stores in Belgium, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Slovakia.

M&S has 268 franchise stores in 34 markets, and an established joint venture in Greece, as well as India.

"Working together with its partners here, the Group will leverage their scale, infrastructure and local expertise," it added.

It will continue to operate owned businesses in the Republic of Ireland, Hong Kong and Czech Republic which are more profitable with strong brand awareness, established store estates and customer base.

M&S also trades online in 21 markets reaching customers through its fully localised owned and operated websites, via marketplaces such as Myntra in India and Zalando in Europe and with its established franchise partners.